Twisting machine



Nov. 5, 1968 SYLTHE 3,408,807

TWISTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 10, 1966 Inventor kraz. 5Y H United States Patent 3,408,807 TWISTING MACHINE Kjell Sylthe, Oslo, Norway, assignor to International Standard Electric Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 10, 1966, Ser. No. 585,441 Claims priority, application Norway, Oct. 29, 1965, 160,255 3 Claims. (Cl. 57-59) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Cable reactive imbalances are reduced by rotating a twisting die alternately in the same and opposite directions relative to the rotation of the twisted conductors. Either the pay-off or take-up member is held stationary while the other rotates.

The present invention relates to twisting machines for twisting pairs or quads for telephone cables.

During the process of twisting pairs and star quads for telephone cables, the conductors or pairs meet in a twisting die and the various capacitance and inductance imbalances such as side to side, phantom to side, side to earth and phantom to earth imbalances will be imparted to the conductor groups in this die. Such imbalances usually arise from uneven insulation, and uneven tension of the conductors (or pairs) in the twisting machine. There may, however, also be other reasons.

There has been suggested several arrangements for reducing such imbalances by moving the twisting die. One known method is to let the twisting die rotate a little faster or a little slower than the pair or quad. Another method is to move the twisting die periodically back and forth along the pair or quad axis, so as to shift the twisting point back and forth. A further method is to move the twisting die along a curve in a plane perpendicular to the pair or quad axis.

None of these arrangements have, however, been proved to give satisfactory results in all cases, and the object of the invention is therefore to obtain a method by which satisfactory results are obtained in all cases.

The main feature of the present invention is that the twisting die is rotated alternately left and right relatively to the pair or quad.

The pair or quad is thereby alternately subjected to the left and right rotation of the die and due to uneven tangential friction of the different conductors, the imbalances will be alternately plus and minus. This results in lower imbalances such as side to side, phantom to side, side to earth and phantom to earth.

Above mentioned and other features and objects of the invention will clearly appear from the following detailed description of two embodiments of the invention, taken in conjunction with the drawings, where FIG. 1 schematically shows a star quad twisting machine with rotating pay-off and non-rotation take-up and FIG. 2 schematically shows a star quad twisting machine with rotation take-up and non-rotation pay-oil.

In both figures are shown four conductors 1 passing from pay-off bobbins (not shown) through individual holes in a lay plate 2. The four conductors are. thereupon passed through a twisting die 3, and the finished quad 4 is then wound onto a take-up bobbin 5.

FIG. 1 indicates that the pay-off arrangement including the lay-plate 2 is rotated at the rotational speed W The quad is therefore also rotated at the rotational speed W and the twisting die should therefore be rotated alternately left and right relative to this rotational speed. The rotational speed of the twisting die W should therefore alternately be W W +W and W W -W.,. The values W and W may e.g., be chosen so that both values are equal to W in that case the twisting die is alternately rotated at twice the speed of and in the same direction as the pay-off arrangement and alternately is not rotated. Any suitable known driving means 6 may be used to rotate die 3. Similar driving means may be used to rotate the pay-off arrangement including the lay plate 2.

In FIG. 2 it is indicated that the take-up arrangement is rotated at the rotational speed W In this case the quad and lay plate 2 are not rotated, i.e. the four conductors 1 always enter the twisting die at the same position and are merely screwed through the die, so that the twisting die in this case should be rotatably alternately left and right relative to zero speed. The rotational speed of the twisting die W should therefore alternately be W =W and W =-W i.e. (W '=W The values W and W may e.g. be chosen so that both values 'are equal to W The twisting die would then be alternately rotated at the same speed and in the same direction as the take-up arrangement and alternately be rotated at the same speed but in the opposite direction as the take-up arrangement.

It should be noted that the above mentioned values W and W obviously may be chosen to be different from each other and from W The present invention is described above in connection with the twisting of star quads, but it is obvious that it may also be used in connection with the twisting of pairs or other quads. The rotation of the twisting die does not tend to untwist the pair or quad.

The invention may also be used in connection with twisting machines comprising rotating take-up as well as rotating pay-off.

The time period including one right and one left rotation period may also be varied.

The above detailed description of an embodiment of the present invention must not be considered to be a limitation on the scope of protection.

I claim:

1. A twisting machine for twisting cable conductor pairs and quads comprising a lay plate member supporting and guiding said conductors, a twisting die, and a take-up bobbin member, one of said members being stationary and the other being rotatable to rotary said conductors, and means for rotating the twisting die left and right alternately relative to the rotation of the conductors thereby reducing the capacitance and inductance imbalances imparted to the conductors.

2. A twisting machine according to claim 1 including means for rotating said lay plate with respect to a nonrotating take-up bobbin and means alternately rotating the twisting die at twice the speed of and in the same direction as the lay plate and alternately not rotating said die.

3. A twisting machine according to claim 1 comprising means rotating said take-up bobbin with respect to a 2,162,131 6/1939 So1;1e1 vi11e 5 7 -58 36 XR non-rotating lay plate end nieans alteinatelg rotating the V 2,238,496 4/1941 McDonald 5715 XR twisting die at the same speed and in the same direction 2,412,196 12/1946 Ashbaugh et a1 5759 'as the take-up bobbin and alternately rotating the die at 2,924,930 2/1960 Crosby et a]. 57-138 XR the same speed and opposite direction as the take-up 5 3,091,074 5/1963 Pemmel 57-66.5 XR bobbin. 3,115,742 12/1963 Ege 57--59 XR 3,169,360 2/1965 Corrall et a1. 57--77.3 XR References Cited 2,869,316 1/1959 Lilly 57156 XR UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,882,674 4/ 1959 Lenk 57-156 XR 1,742,172 12/1929 Atwood 57 13s XR 10 3253397 5/1966 1'911'925 5/1933 Reed XR FRANK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner. 2,043,130 6/1936 Traugott 5715 XR 2,058,234 10/1936 Johannessen 57-15 493 9 

